Monday, 28 July 2014

In less than 3 months, the people of Scotland will take part in what is
one of the most important democratic decisions that our nation will take during
my lifetime. It is the decision about whether or not Scotland should become an
independent country or remain a part of the union with the rest of the United
Kingdom.

All the signs are that record numbers of people will turn out to vote.
That, regardless of the outcome, is fantastic. So too are the record number of
village, town and community hall meetings which are taking place the length and
breadth of the land as we think about how to vote. And the campaigning which we
are seeing on our streets every day is brilliant, even if occasionally it goes
a little bit over the top. We must never forget that in other nations, and at
other times, people have died for the right to exercise the choice that we will
do freely on in September. Maybe, when our descendants look back on this period
in our history, they will point to it as a time when popular democracy was
re-ignited. When we discovered again that our voice, our opinion and our vote
mattered. I hope so.

However, whilst it is exciting that so many people are involved in the
debate, we need to recognise that thousands and thousands are still not. They
are not only those who could vote but won’t – turned off by scandal or the
sense that nothing changes. They are also those who, whilst eligible to vote,
are not yet on the electoral register. They are frequently those who have the
least in our society. There is still time for people to register to vote. Let’s
all do our part to make sure that that happens. To make sure that no one who
has the right to vote in September is not able to do so.

For the last 5 years I have been involved with Scotland’s Poverty Truth
Commission. The Commission brings together 2 groups of people: some of
Scotland’s senior leaders and some of Scotland’s very poorest and most
marginalised citizens. Our understanding is simple: that Scotland will never be
as great nation as we could be until those who struggle against poverty every
day are seen as part of the solution rather than part of the problem. In our
work we have adopted, from the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa, one of
the great slogans of that historic struggle. Nothing About Us Without Us is For Us.

20 years on, the TV images of people queuing to vote in South Africa’s
first free and democratic elections still give me goose-bumps. It would be
great if similar pictures could be transmitted around the world on the 18th
September. As we turn out, in record numbers, to make our decision about what
sort of future we want for ourselves, our children, our grandchildren, our
friends and our neighbours.

Martin Johnstone

Martin is a Church of
Scotland minister involved in a wide range of anti-poverty organisations. He is
Secretary of Scotland’s Poverty Truth Commission.

Monday, 21 July 2014

Just before
the 2010 UK election, David Cameron famously declared that the living wage was an
idea “whose time has come”. After four years, however, it seems that in-work
poverty has become for many a more decade defining phenomenon, and you do not need
to look far to find Dave’s vision illusory.

Just round
the corner from his house, in fact, you will find 12
out of 17 Whitehall departments paying their cleaning staff below the
Living Wage. The dark humour is certainly not lost when you consider this dozen
includes the departments for Health and for International Development, the
latter of which has a mandate for tackling poverty globally….

The need for
a proper living wage is self-evident. There are now more people in Scotland living
in poverty in households where at least one person is working than in homes where
no-one is in paid employment. There are fundamental flaws which mean that
education and employment are not providing people with a route out of poverty.

However, just
as spurious as Dave’s vision, is the belief that the manifestation of a living
wage across society will neatly end in-work poverty.

It is a
vital component in the campaign for a fairer society and a reduction in poverty.
However, to regard it as the all-encompassing solution shows a lack of
understanding of the intricacy of in-work poverty.

We need a
deeper insight. We need to hear from the experts: people with experience of it.

The PovertyTruth Commission has been doing just this over the last few years. Our
findings have revealed the numerous barriers which are everyday realities
for many, but often fall below the public radar. These include: lack of support
for training and development; expensive and inflexible childcare; caring
responsibilities going unrecognised; limited opportunities for career
progression; the inflexibility of the current Benefits System and the rising
trend of underemployment.

This is set
against a backdrop of rapidly escalating costs for food and fuel in particular.
In addition, it has been matched by a trend of decreasing working conditions
for those on the lowest incomes. The increasingly ubiquitous zero-hour contract
has brought no guarantee of working hours and, as such, no assured income. In
addition, these working arrangements are extremely unlikely to leave their recipients with any holiday entitlements or pension contributions.

Challenges for all of us

It is palpable
that the Living Wage Campaign needs continued support from all of us across
society. It is deeply connected to legislation decided at Westminster and
energy should be expended there. However, it also has a local current to it.
Campaigning for it to be part of procurement considerations at both Holyrood
and at local authority level is just one step we can all take.

However, we
must also stop perpetuating the myth that work is the route out of poverty for
everyone. It is only the case in the right environment and unless we make a
concerted effort to address that context, we will remain in an age of in-work
poverty.

Monday, 14 July 2014

‘I want the opportunity
to have a life – to thrive not just survive.’ Marie

Last week
the Labour party argued for more rigorous monitoring of child poverty levels in
the UK. The call
was for the Office for Budgetary Responsibility to produce two yearly
assessments, as it currently does with economic growth predictions. The logic
being that greater public awareness of poverty statistics could lead to
improved Government action on what is an increasing problem.

Certainly child poverty has been absent from George Osbourne’s last three budget speeches and
independent analysts predict child poverty rates are set to rise significantly.
One estimate of a 600,000 increase by 2015-16 is truly shocking and should make
everyone take note.

The Coalition’s approach

The government’s
defence is that its new
welfare regime has been designed to encourage people back to work and support those
unable to do so.

How it has
been carried out, however, has been roundly criticised on numerous
fronts. A report
on sanctions this month from Citizens Advice Scotland, for example, documents
some of its brutal shortcomings.

The Poverty Trap

Moreover, aside
from the actual implementation, there seems a deeper structural flaw to the system.
By removing the safety net, huge swathes of people are being pushed into
poverty, without recognition of how once there they can be easily trapped. Many
of those bearing the brunt of the cuts are already working full time,
stuck on the minimum wage, or struggling in an elusive search for more hours to
cover rising living costs.

There
appears no understanding that poverty
traps people: once there your opportunities decrease significantly, you
encounter damaging stigma, and not only is your income reduced but you are
charged more for basic goods and services.

A return to the safety net?

The previous
administration’s record of reducing child poverty by 800,000, from 3.4m to
2.6m, seems, at first glance and in our current climate, to be of notable
achievement.

Further
analysis, on the other hand, highlights that the policies of New Labour did not
display a deep enough approach. Heavily reliant on tweaks such as increases in
Child Tax Credit and Child Benefit, this method lowered levels of child poverty
statistically. However, this was against a backdrop of a failure to dent income
inequality, as calculated by the Gini coefficient.

It gave many
low income families some much needed extra income, but its inability to alter
the overall structure of power, or encourage people’s sense of agency to
flourish within it, resulted in a lack of sustainable progress.

Rethinking the Welfare System:
involving people directly

It is clear
that we need a wider dialogue around welfare policies which halt and
reverse the rising inequality which has gone largely unquestioned over the last
thirty years.

Income
transfers are required and the welfare system should provide a safety net to
prevent individuals from falling into poverty. However, to merely stop there
would be a failure to learn from our past mistakes.

We cannot
expect to create a sustainable system to lift people out of poverty if we do
not directly involve those whom the changes are meant to be helping. People living and experiencing poverty on a daily basis need to have control over how
it is shaped. We need their voices to help guide us.

Alternative Approach

The Poverty
Truth Commission is trying to create this. On Saturday 21st June, an
audience of over 450 heard people with experience of poverty stand side by
side with people in positions of power in Scotland. As well as hearing true
stories of life on low incomes, those in attendance heard a vision for the future
often ignored by the mainstream media. A vision of a fairer and more inclusive
economy, geared towards the benefit of all in society, with universal and equal participation in decision
making.

Challenges for us all

Since its
inception in 2009, the Commission has been constantly and profoundly challenged
by the testimonies it has heard from people living in poverty. In that spirit,
it has offered a
set of challenges for everyone across society, from politicians to the woman
or man on the street.

Chief amongt
them is this:

“We challenge
politicians and civic leaders to stop talking about those in poverty and to
start learning with them”

Friday, 11 July 2014

I was annoyed but, truth be told, not really surprised when
reading Harriet
Harman's account of the rifeness of sexism within UK politics. The gender
disparity statistically which exists at Westminster, Holyrood and at lower
levels of politics, is clear to see. Harman’s personal account, however, helped
to illuminate the everyday realities of life in a heavily male dominated
environment.

She spoke of how a female MP is
"still defined by her marital status and reproductive record in a way that
would be unthinkable for a man".

Harman struck on a wider issue then gender equality, however,
when she spoke of how unrepresentative of society parliament is. She identified that although many in positions
of power have adopted the rhetoric of supporting equality, they feel this is enough in itself to bring
about change. She said:

"You don't have to openly oppose equality to
perpetuate inequality … All it takes is for those in positions of power to do
nothing and the status quo prevails.”

The Poverty Truth Commission has learnt all about how this
exists and impacts on the daily lives of people living in poverty. We have
understood how the language and practices of different organisations - public
service bodies, businesses and charities – can make individuals feel as if they
are second class citizens, not worthy of equal treatment. One commissioner told
us:

‘I’ve seen me fill in
application forms and I’ll put down I live in Govan. But I’m then told “No, you
don’t put down Govan. Write Glasgow, because if you say Govan, no-one is going
to employ you.” They are even saying that at the Job Centre’.

We have heard stories of commissioners being judged and
encountering stigma based on what clothes they are wearing or where they live.
We as a Commission are appalled at the lack of moral courage of many within
public life to stand alongside those who are unfairly caricatured.

Change is possible

As Harman correctly identifies this situation of acute gender
inequality has continued because those in positions of power have done very
little to address the root causes. The same is true of poverty. People in
positions of power need to listen to those with experience of poverty. We
challenge everyone to stand up to the stigmatisation of all marginalised groups
across society.

Our Challenges

We challenge all of us to see beyond the labels that
stereotype people and which diminish our society as a whole.

We challenge politicians to avoid unfair and prejudicial
language against people living in poverty.

We challenge organisations tackling poverty to engage more effectively
with the media to ensure positive stories are heard

To read more about the work of the Commission and our
challenges please have a look at our report.

About Us

The Poverty Truth Commission brings together some of Scotland's key decision makers with those living at the sharp end of poverty. We work together towards overcoming poverty in Scotland; ensuring that those affected by decisions are central to decision-making. The Commission believes poverty will only truly be addressed when those who experience it first-hand are at the heart of the process.